Intel P35 / X38 Motherboards Roundup
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Date: 21.02.2008 |
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ASUS Maximus Extreme (Intel X38; DDR3)
ASUS Maximus Extreme fully justifies its name - it is "extreme maximum in all the ways" :). First, it is the largest of all the others (dimensions: 269mm x 305mm), and due to its massive cooling system it is the heaviest. Secondly, it is the most expensive of all the reviewed products (its price is 300-350$), and a computer on its base may prove also expensive since the motherboard handles only DDR-3 memory. Thirdly, the board allows for extreme overclocking of the CPU and attaining its maximum clock speed. In particular, we were able to attain FSB=568 MHz, as well as overclocked the test CPU E6550 to 3.92 GHz. Fourthly, the package bundle is maximum and includes a lot of varied items, attributes of the Republic of Gamers series (including a bonus DVD with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game). Fifthly, the board uses one of the most advanced BIOSes we have ever seen. Summing it up, we can say that ASUS Maximus Extreme is some sort of a "Rolls-Royce" in the world of motherboards. Running ahead, we note that in view of the current prices for DDR-3 we recommend this motherboard to those users who have a Rolls-Royce parked in their garage :)
Coming back to the cooling system, we note that it allows attaining high overclocking results even without plugging in a fluid-based cooling system.
The expansion options are really powerful, almost extreme: two Gigabit LAN controllers, two Firewire ports, and an additional SerialATA/ParallelATA/RAID controller.
We also note the support for 12 USB2.0 ports and 8-channel audio subsystem on a separate SupremeFX II board. Besides, the board uses three PCI Express x16, two PCI Express x1, and two PCI slots.
As we can see, engineers at ASUS have completely given up support for the LPT port and COM ports. Missing is also a PS/2 connector to plug in a mouse. On the other hand, there is an abundance of USB2.0 ports; there are also optical and coaxial SP-DIF outputs, a Firewire, and two SATAII ports. The board also has a button to clear the CMOS settings (works only in a certain position of the CLRTC_SW switch), a connector to plug in the LCD-Poster, with one of the radiators in the upper part.
Another trait is that the board has Power-On and Reset buttons.
As regards the BIOS, the board can boast a rich selection of memory tuning settings.
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The system monitoring is also at a very high level. In particular, the boards display the current values of the CPU and system temperatures, temperatures of the north and south bridges, as well as temperatures from three additional thermo sensors which are available in the package bundle. Besides, the board keeps track of voltages, rotational speeds of all the eight fans, six of which having the (Q-Fan2) feature to adjust the rotational speed of the CPU cooler depending on the temperature of varied components.
Also, ASUS Maximus Extreme is able saving all the BIOS settings into memory and loading them on demand. It supports two independent profiles:
The overclocking tools have no shortcomings at all:
ASUS Maximus Extreme allows adjusting the FSB within 200 to 800 MHz, raising the CPU voltage to 2.4V, on the memory - to 3.04V, on the north bridge - to 2.05V, on the south bridge - to 2.05V, and on the FSB bus - to 2.0V. While running the tests, we were able attaining a stable operation at the maximum possible FSB=568MHz.
And that result was attained without plugging in a water-powered cooling system.
Pros:
- High stability and good performance level;
- Three PCI Express x16 slots;
- Support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 8 links; ICH9R + JMB 363);
- Support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
- Two LAN controllers (Gigabit Ethernet);
- Support for USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire, 2 ports);
- A wide selection of ASUS' proprietary technologies (PC Probe II, EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MyLogo2, Q-Fan 2, etc.);
- Additional set of AI Proactive technologies (AI Overclock, OC Profile, AI Net 2, etc.);
- Fluid passive/active system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module;
- Power and Reset buttons; a button to reset the CMOS;
- Support for LCD-Poster;
- Attractive bundled items (including additional thermal sensors, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, etc.).
Cons:
The board's specific features:
- Record-breaking CPU overclocking results;
- Dimensions beyond the standard;
- 8-channel audio implemented on a separate board;
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